The early 19th century’s great artistic response to the Industrial Revolution did not arrive amidst the clamor of shattered looms, but in the chilling silence that followed; the bewilderment in the face of changes not yet fully comprehended but already staggering. In 1818, Mary Shelley’s «Frankenstein» was published — not the first horror story, but the first true realization that what frightens us is not so much the monster, but the idea that spawned it, as well as the creator’s terrifying loss of control.
Today, we exist in a similar moment of anxiety. The digital revolution’s promise has curdled into a new algorithmic reason. We seek a contemporary «Frankenstein»: not a cry to break the machine, but a profound, philosophical inquiry at the silent systems we have built and the new, inhuman futures they inexorably design.
The Dark Matter festival transcends the boundaries of conventional horror, featuring projects that represent a deeper, more persistent longing. We are interested in the horror of ideas: the timeless conflict of existentialism, the grotesque poetry of body horror, the silent desolation of post-apocalyptic worlds, and the cosmic pessimism of a universe indifferent to human struggle.
We welcome game ideas that evoke eeriness, pessimism, or unease, both thematically and through their visual style. Submissions are accepted in the form of a teaser video or a series of concept art.
Ad Extremum by Valeriy Mannanov
Game Art
The subject of this category is an original interactive environment that blends 3D graphics and a game engine. The project must include a video walkthrough of this space and should be submitted as a presentation on the hsedesign.com platform. The presentation should clearly convey the project’s overall style, its distinctive visual features, and the intended gameplay experience it aims to support.
Conventional techniques—such as visceral representation, jump scares, the supernatural—are but a superficial grammar for a deeper, more pervasive terror. The true unease lies not in something having gone wrong, but in the unsettling feeling that the world’s very foundation is flawed. It is the horror of the quiet collapse, of slow entropy, of a mechanics of decay that operates perfectly yet remains profoundly inhuman.
Dealing by Sofiya Denisova
Submission Requirements:
— A vertically oriented cover with dimensions matching an A4 sheet; — The presentation should include a black tag labeled «game art» and a white tag labeled «dark matter»; — A conceptual description, including the setting and the intended gameplay; — At least five visually diverse screenshots; — A teaser or walkthrough video hosted on Vimeo, Kinescope or Youtube; — To enhance the presentation, consider incorporating animated GIFs that highlight the most striking parts of the project.
The Erlking by Veronica Karapetian
Competition Phases
October 12 — submissions start
May 12 — submissions no longer accepted
May 24 — results are announced
The Prizes
1st Place — 50,000 RUB 2nd Place — 30,000 RUB 3rd Place — 20,000 RUB
Special prizes from the partners.
This is not an entertainment contest, but rather a symposium dedicated to profound artistic exploration. We are in search of provocative, poetic, and conceptually rigorous works—a neo-Romantic defense of the innate human ability to experience fear and to transcend it.
AFTERGLOW by Sofya Skvortsova
Game Concept Art
This format accepts game ideas presented as a series of illustrations. Concept art must be submitted within a carefully designed presentation on the hsedesign.com. The presentation should clearly convey the project’s overall style and distinctive visual features, as well as a hint of the intended gameplay experience the project may offer.
Wrathful by Darya Boldyreva
Submission Requirements:
— A vertically oriented cover with dimensions matching an A4 sheet; — The presentation should include a black tag labeled «game art» and a white tag labeled «dark matter»; — A conceptual description, articulated in any format of your choice; — At least five visually diverse yet thematically coherent illustrations; — To enhance the presentation, consider incorporating animated GIFs that highlight the most striking parts of the project.
Black Frequency by Nikita Rodionov
Participants can submit an unlimited number of entries. If submitting multiple projects, each one must be uploaded separately to hsedesign.com as an individual presentation.
October 12 — submissions start May 12 — submissions no longer accepted May 24 — results are announced
NON-COMPETITIVE
State of Disintegration by Ekaterina Rogozhkina
While the focus of this competition is solely on video games, the non-competitive segment showcases darker works in more traditional mediums. This includes short films that resonate with the themes of Dark Matter and are produced by students of the CGI and Visual Effects program at HSE Art and Design School.
Students from any university, regardless of geographic location, are eligible to participate in both the competitive and non-competitive programs.
* The headline section includes works by Valentina Balitskaya, Anastasiya Smirnova and Sofya Skvortsova.
